The impact of cable theft at the mental hospital in Kimberley requires an urgent intergovernmental approach to combat crime and address security failures at the health facility.
During a specially convened portfolio committee meeting as requested by the Democratic Alliance (DA), to discuss the lack of infrastructure maintenance at health facilities last week, it was revealed that it cost the health department around R1,2 million to replace stolen cables.
According to the latest health quarterly report, the hospital experienced three incidents of vandalism at the electrical power substation, associated with cable theft between October and November last year. Subsequent excessive usage of the standby generator led to the primary generator experiencing a mechanical breakdown, necessitating a temporary replacement.
Scarcity of high voltage cables and the festive closure further delayed the restoration of power. The overall impact on health’s already limited budget, let alone on the provision of mental health care services, has been devastating.
While the department is due to submit a report to the health portfolio committee within the next two weeks, further detailing the impact of theft and vandalism at the facility, an urgent and proactive response is required to effectively combat further destruction of state infrastructure by criminal syndicates.
The upgrading of security systems at the site of the substation forms a critical intervention and needs to be sped up. The Premier, Dr Zamani Saul, recently announced that the insourcing of security guards would be prioritised at the mental hospital. We need to know when, how and at what cost security at the mental hospital will be upgraded.
We also want to know what law enforcement is doing to combat cable theft, in collaboration with the provincial government, and also whether they are investigating the possibility that officials may be working with the copper theft syndicates.
The DA has requested the legislature to schedule a joint meeting with the Department of Health, the Office of the Premier, the Department of Roads and Public Works, the Department of Safety and the Provincial Police Commissioner to enable a round table discussion on security and cable theft at health facilities in the province.